Barbas: The Demon Within
by the whole world is watching
Summary: Because everyone is afraid of something. Four seperate one-shots.
1. Peter Pettigrew

Thank you MrsBates93 for your wonderful Beta'ing.

Barbas is from the T.V series _Charmed_. He is the demon of fear and kills people by bringing their deepest fears to life. I do not own him or Harry Potter.

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><p><em>Nosocomephobia - A fear of hospitals.<em>

Peter stood on the pavement across the road; his eyes were fixated on the ominous building in front of him. Ominous to him at least.

It was a muggle hospital which Lily, James, the new born baby Harry, Remus, and Sirius were currently in. Along with a hundred other sick people.

He wanted to go in, he wanted to see the child he would hand over to the Dark Lord, and he wanted to see the family he would inevitably destroy. But one thing stopped him; one solitary thing stopped him from walking any further towards the building.

It wasn't the Dark Mark on his arm; it wasn't the images of his friend's smiling faces in his mind, cooing over the small defenceless child, each taking a turn to hold him. It wasn't the thought of what he would do to them in time or knowing all the consequences his future actions would surely bring.

It was the building itself.

He had always hated hospitals, even as a child. He hated the smell of sickness, a fresh thick layer around every corner. He hated the sight of its patients and doctors, he hated the false hope, and he hated the weakness that was forced upon the patients.

That was before Hogwarts. Before he had befriended Remus Lupin and later discovered that he was a werewolf. Before he had first visited Remus in the Hospital Wing after the full moon, seeing how weak he was and how much pain he was in, seeing the potions Madam Pomfrey had left out for Remus to take.

It was at that moment, somewhere during that first visit that his hate for hospitals became a fear, growing stronger with each passing month and the resulting visits. It wasn't just Remus he had visited in hospital, he had gone to see James and Sirius during the many times they had bitten off more than they could chew.

He himself had been forced to stay in hospital after a particularly nasty prank had backfired spectacularly. He had spent just three days under the care of Madam Pomfrey, but those three days had felt like months. Each passing moment had suffocated his mind, made him afraid to move, to even breathe.

He hid it well though when his friends visited him, each time asking Pomfrey when he could leave. He had relished those times, surrounded by his friends; they had made it all a little better, a little brighter.

But then Pomfrey had asked them to leave, _"He needs his rest__,__" _she had said. He hated her then, hated her for taking the light away and closing the doors, forcing the darkness of the room down on him.

He breathed again when he left; he went two floors down and breathed. Banishing the dark thoughts that had crossed his mind during his _imprisonment _away from him.

He had always thought of an excuse to not visit Remus after that, he didn't want the dark thoughts to come back, the suffocating darkness, the feeling of weakness. He never wanted to relive it.

And now he stood twenty feet away from it.

His palms, shoved deep into his pockets, were already sweaty; his heartbeat was rapid while his breathing was laboured.

He knew what would happen if he went closer, the dark thoughts would come. And if he actually made it inside, they would consume him, take him away from the light.

He turned and disapparated, taking his demons with him.


	2. Sirius Black

_Ecophobia - A fear of home._

Sirius always took ages to pack, going as slow as possible in a desperate attempt to delay the inevitable.

He would place his trunk on the opposite side of the room from where he stood, and then he would throw without aiming, his clothes, books and other belongings landing on the floor instead of in the trunk. He used his 'game' to cover his fear.

Just the thought of having to go home was enough to make him cry.

It always started at the beginning of May; he became depressed, pulling more pranks and not even caring if he got caught. The time he spent alone in the Room of Requirement was the time he spent crying, wishing he was someone else, wishing his family was a different one.

He wanted to be proud, he wanted to go home and have his family say that they were proud of him, even if it was just for one day. He wanted his mother to look at him the way James's mum looked at her son, with unconditional love and pride. He wanted his father to clap him on the back, swiftly followed by a "Good job son," just like James's dad did when his son announced something to be proud of. He wanted his brother to look up to him and say he wanted to be just like him.

But it was all just a dream. He didn't have the kind of family that was proud of him or anything that he did. Everything he did was wrong, a shameful act of betrayal encouraged by the 'blood traitors' who were his friends and housemates.

His brother could do no wrong. Everything Regulus did, becoming the prodigal son, becoming a Slytherin and then no doubt a Death Eater, was something to be proud of in his parents' eyes. He wanted to rescue his brother from the darkness emanating from his parents and the Black family lineage. He had tried for five years, but finally giving up when Regulus took great pride in announcing in the Great Hall that the elder Black's name had been blasted off the family tree tapestry.

His friends knew not to mention his family, at any time of year. They thought they knew the reason why he procrastinated with his packing and why he always went to James's to stay for just two weeks in the summer. They thought it was just as simple as being unable to stand his family's presence for too long, and while they were right, they had no idea just how far it went. The fear ran deep inside him, scaring him with its power.

It taunted him, making time pass by faster when he was on the train, only to slow it down again when he walked through the front door, going so slow that it seemed as though time was going backwards. The house taunted him with the Black family tapestry and his parents, the two people who were supposed to love him no matter what, taunted him with their cold and vicious words.

He'd never admit it, but those words stung harder than any physical attack ever would.

Time became normal when he left for James's, his trunk never having to be re-packed. The taunting went away but never left him, it was in his dreams, his nightmares. The cruel sting of rejection, the power of the fear, it never left him.

It never would.


	3. Draco Malfoy

_Atelophobia - A fear of Imperfection_

Draco had always taken pride in his appearance. He was a Malfoy and to look anything less than perfect was unacceptable. _"You are a Malfoy and a pureblood. Appearance is everything__,__" _his father would tell him.

New robes, the latest broom, flawless appearance, he had it all. It was important to him.

He spent two hours in the bathroom every morning, longer than anyone else. He would shower, then dry and perfect his hair, styling it in his trademark fashion. He would then check that his face was clear of that horrible acne. All it took was one spot to ruin his flawless appearance.

He pitied his peers - the Mud-Bloods and blood traitors who were inferior to him. He pitied the fact that they would never live up to his standards, that they would never be as perfect as he was. They were destined to be the scruffy lower-class men and women that they were.

His mind wandered to Potter who had scruffy black hair and that ugly mark on his forehead. He might forgive him if he didn't associate himself with the know-it-all frizzy haired Mud-Blood and the freckle-faced orange weasel. He made a vow to never lower himself to that, to never be as unkempt as they were.

His housemates called it vanity. He called it necessary.


	4. Bellatrix Lestrange

_Dementophobia - A fear of insanity_

Bellatrix sat in her cell, the screams of the other prisoners penetrating her mind. The feel of their insanity washed through her, making her shudder.

"Poor little crazy wizards," she said under her breath.

_You're just as bad as they are._

She scoffed, "No, they're worse than me, just listen to their screams." As if to emphasize her point, a scream erupted, penetrating the walls of her prison cell.

_This place changes a person, and never for the better._

"What does that mean?"

The little voice laughed, a quick sound ringing with delight and smugness. _You're a smart girl aren't you? Why don't you tell me what it means?_

"I don't answer to you."

_You are s__o determined to deny the truth. What has happened to my little Bella to make her this mad?_

She shook her head. "I am not insane!"

The voice laughed again. _I think you need reminding of what you have become my dear Bella._

"Don't call me that!"

_Don't call you what? Dear? Or Bella? I can only call you what you permit me to. Should I perhaps call you a murderer, a sadistic woman who takes pleasure in torturing innocent people? Would you prefer that dear Bella?_

"I'd prefer you to leave me alone."

It laughed again, she was sure it would have shaken its head disbelievingly if it had one. _Poor Bella, you don't know do you? You can't see, for you are blinded by your madness, the insanity creeping through your mind like poison, slowly taking away every part of you. I know dear Bella. I know all about you._

She shook her head again. "You don't know anything about me!"

_Oh but I do. I know how much you enjoyed torturing those two Aurors, the Longbottoms. It gave you pleasure to hear them scream, to watch the poison slowly take their minds. It made you happy my dear Bella, don't deny it._

"No."

_I am not fooled by you, I know you enjoyed it. I enjoyed it too. The sound of their screams was sadistically beautiful._

"And you say I'm the crazy one."

_Dear Bella, everyone's a little bit crazy. The madness is what makes life fun._

"I don't want to listen anymore."

_The poison made your life fun my dear Bella. The thick poison of insanity. Why else would I be here?_

"Maybe I'm not the only one who enjoys torturing innocent people."

_But you were never innocent. Even as a child the poison was there, sitting at the back of your mind, just waiting for that first act. You released the poison Bella, you're the reason I'm here._

"And just who are you?"

The voice laughed again. _I am the poison my dear Bella. Why else did you never question me when I told you to commit those sadistic acts? You never even thought twice about any of them. My dear Bella, such a good girl, always doing as she is told._

She shook her head again, more violently. "No! You're lying!"

_Unfortunately I cannot take all the credit for your unhinged mental state, this prison has played a large part, adding to the poison. Why do you think you're alone, secluded in this area with no other prisoners around you? It's because you were already poisoned when you came here. I had already claimed much of your mind__;__ so much of your being was in my control._

"I'm not alone here! I can hear them! I can hear their screams!"

_But the screams you hear are your own my dear Bella. I've poisoned you so much and I've enjoyed every second of it. You always were a fun toy, and now you fear me._

"I am not afraid of anything."

_But you are dear Bella. You spent your childhood fighting me after I was released, not realising that the more you fought, the more I poisoned. Such a waste of time on your part._

"No! Go away! You're not real! GO AWAY!"

_But you're my favourite toy dear Bella. I never want to stop playing with you._


End file.
